“With your accomplishments both in and out of the octagon, you’ve contributed to shaping the sport of mixed martial arts into what it is today while also being a global ambassador for the sport,” the email read. “We wish you nothing but the best of luck and much success going forward with all your future endeavors, and thank you for your dedication to the sport of mixed martial arts and the UFC.”
Dan Hardy was fully reading the message for the first time when he spoke to MMA Fighting. Seeing a text block of corporate-speak, sent one day after he gave an interview to Submission Radio asking for a release from his nine-year-old fight contract, he had immediately forwarded it to his manager.